Peter W. Stanley

Stanley earned his BA and doctorate degrees at Harvard University.[3] He was a Frank Knox Memorial Fellow at Jesus College, Cambridge University.[3] He subsequently taught Asian history at the University of Illinois and Harvard, and served as the chief academic officer at Carleton College for a year.[2] From 1979 to 1987, he directed the education and culture program at the Ford Foundation.[1][4]

Stanley became president of Pomona College in 1991.[4] During his tenure, he oversaw a number of construction projects, including most prominently the Smith Campus Center (1999),[5] that modernized the college's facilities while restoring elements of Myron Hunt's master plan that had degraded over time.[4] He also led the extremely successful Campaign for Pomona College from 1997 to 2002, which ultimately raised over $206 million, far exceeding its goal.[4] Pomona's endowment increased from $364 million to $1.1. billion over the course of his presidency.[2]

After Pomona, he became vice president of the executive search firm Isaacson.[3]

Stanley married Mary-Jane Cosgrove in 1978,[6] and had one daughter, Laura.[2] After retiring from Pomona, Stanley moved with his wife to Old Saybrook, Connecticut; she died in January 2020 after 42 years of marriage.[6]

The Peter W. Stanley Academic Quadrangle at Pomona is named in his honor. The college also awarded him an honorary degree at its 2008 commencement ceremony.[3]

• Stanley, Peter W. (1974). A Nation in the making: The Philippines and the United States, 1899-1921. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674436053.